Staying Healthy During the Holidays: Tips and Strategies

Were fast approaching holiday season and that usually means a lot of parties. This is of course tons of fun, but it can also be stressful for a lot of other reasons. Just one of those reasons can be that fear that you will gain weight or have no control over what you eat. It can be really easy to overdo it around this time, but it doesn’t need to be this way. That is why I wrote this post all about staying healthy during the holidays. There are simple tips and strategies you can use to be more in tune with your body and mind. Because at the end of the day, we know what we should be eating (probably more veggies) but lack this apparent ‘willpower’ to say no to things. Hint- it has nothing to do with your willpower.

This isn’t your typical staying healthy during the holidays blog post, because there are already like 109393884 articles on this, as a rough estimate. I want to dive a little deeper into the reasons you may overdo it and what to do rather than simply saying “move away from the cheese plate.” The idea that we don’t have control or willpower around food is BS. We feel out of control around food because our relationship to it is often times so messed up. We are so used to being on a diet of some kind and demonizing certain foods that when we are surrounded by it at a party, we don’t know what to do. We feel like we may never get a chance to eat that food again and if the diet starts Monday, then the weekend is basically our last supper. We often feel guilty for eating things like cake, cookies or chips and rather than enjoy them as a treat, we binge on them to avoid dealing with this guilt. If this sounds familiar, then I hope this blog post all about staying healthy during the holidays is helpful for you.

As you will see with this list, some are highly emotional and others are a little more practical in nature. The tips I want to provide are ones that I personally use and don’t require any extra work. What they do require is some self love and respect. If you constantly berate yourself for eating xyz, that guilt will do so much more than just eating that food in the first place. There are various reasons for overdoing it during the holiday season, let’s get to them and discover how to stay healthy during the holidays.

Tips to Staying Healthy During the Holidays:

Reason #1: Your blood sugar is imbalanced

I talk about blood sugar balancing so often because it really is the ultimate way to food freedom in my opinion. When your blood sugar is stable, you won’t experience the up and down roller coaster of emotions and be tempted to binge on things. If you want to read more about how to balance your blood sugar, you’ve got to check out this post. If your meals aren’t well balanced with protein, fibre and fat, you will get cravings for things (mostly sweets/carbs) and the parties are the perfect atmosphere to overdo it.

What to do: Before you head out to any party, you should aim to have something that is well balanced beforehand. A simple way to do this is with a fueling smoothie that contains protein, fat and fibre. It doesn’t have to be a smoothie, but I personally find this is the easiest way to fuel your body. Making a smoothie doesn’t take more than a couple of minutes and its portable so you can take it with you even as you are heading out the door. My morning smoothies last me all morning and I don’t feel hungry so I know they can do the same for you. If you want more tips on how to build the perfect smoothie, check out this post and video! Now, what if you didn’t follow this advice and you ate all the things? You can easily reset the next day with a smoothie or other meal that is well balanced (meaning it contains protein, fibre and fat). No need to jump on a juice cleanse, detox or diet, just make your next meal blood sugar balanced. The easiest way to do that is with a smoothie in my opinion.

Reason #2: You drink too much alcohol

Two words- OPEN BAR! Holiday parties are notorious for having an open bar and for some reason we think that this means, we have to drink all the alcohol. As if all of it will be gone the next day… so we drink and this lowers our inhibitions and makes it oh so easy to overindulge.

What to do: Slow down! Seriously, that is the first thing you can do. Before you arrive, make sure you drink lots of water. Then while you are at the party, slow down and breathe. It can be so easy to get lost in the crowd and lose track of yourself in the moment, so the best thing to do to come back to yourself is to breathe. OK, the next tip is to try and drink a glass of water with every drink you have, this will help fill you up (as alcohol dehydrates you) and keep you slightly more clear headed. Try and stick to drinks that are made with simple ingredients like soda water, water or low sugar wines. Then add lots of flavour to that with lemons and limes. This is a better option than using juice or soda as the base because those are high in sugar and pretty much just empty calories.

Reason #3: You stock up on all the little things

In line with reason #1, you may be hangry and start to eat all the things. Like every appetizer that comes your way and if you’re feeling a little socially awkward you may stick to the food table so you have something to do. All of this mindless snacking adds up and before you know it, you’ve eaten a plate full of appetizers and then an entree followed by dessert. It never feels good when you overeat, so it is best to avoid stocking up on all the little things coming your way.

What to do: The best thing to do is to make sure you aren’t starving before you arrive to the party. Again, try to remember to breathe, eat mindfully and chew your food rather than just swallowing and downing a drink to wash it down. Don’t be afraid to indulge by any means if something really catches your eye, just try and be in tune with your body, its needs and wants.

Reason #4: You are eating your feelings (aka- stress eating)

Oh boy, the holidays are stressful for so many reasons, I get that 1000%. Often times when we find ourselves mindlessly eating, it can be purely from an emotional level rather than an actual physical one. To avoid this, it is important to determine when you find yourself emotionally eating to be aware of it and deal with it, without eating everything in sight.

What to do: Change your vibration and energy if possible. The best way to do this is to change your environment, meaning you physically remove yourself from the place that is causing the stress. Having a dedicated self care practice that helps you focus on what is important and dealing with the stress in a positive way is the most ideal. When I refer to a self care practice that can be something like meditation, yoga, journaling, a warm bath or positive affirmations. Whatever is going to help you to reduce the external stress that can cause the stress eating, do that. Although a glass of wine is nice, it isn’t an ideal way to deal with the real stress and can lead to binge eating, see reason #2 above!

Reason #5: You didn’t eat anything beforehand

Showing up to any event or party when you are starving is not a good idea. When you are starving, you are much more likely to overeat and binge.

What to do: Make sure to eat something light but satisfying before you head out. You don’t need to eat a full meal by any means, just make sure you have had something to eat. I recommend one of those amazing, fueling smoothies I mentioned above. This way you can pack a lot of greens in it (fibre!), protein and fat which all help to stabilize your blood sugar. Smoothies are quick, easy and portable so you don’t need to put in much effort to make/drink one.

Overall, try not to stress about the holidays too much. They are supposed to be a time of joy, although I know they can also be quite depressing too. In order to feel your best throughout the holidays and beyond, focus on self care practices that make you feel good long term. Often times we do things in the moment that feel good and then regret them later (hello hangover). So try to breathe, centre yourself and create some kind of time for you throughout all of the chaos. I promise this will help ease the stress that comes with the holiday season.

About me

Hello gorgeous! Thank you for stopping by. Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Jaclyn and I am a Holistic Nutritionist. I work with women who are tired of yo-yo dieting and want to break free from diet culture and join the Holistic Foodie transformation. Here you will discover that food is more than just calories and you, my dear, are capable of amazing things. Be warned- I like avocados… a lot! If you want to learn more about me and my journey, head over to my about me section. Read More…